Cat

We got a cat over Thanksgiving weekend, so I though it important to finally document it before the Christmas craziness starts.

We adopted her through a small rescue/foster program.  We were told she was rescued from a pet hoarding situation, so she had some boo boos that are almost healed and she has a wonky eye, but otherwise is really friendly and likes to play and has magnificent whiskers.  As Jack summed it up, "It is nice to have a cat that likes us."

We collectively decided on Cleo for a name and she seems to actually respond to it, though after the discovery of the scar on her eye, Jack pleaded to rename her Kylo Ren.  I guess only a few of you will get that reference, but we nixed it anyway.

She will actually hang out with Jack!

 She also really likes watching the birds.

And has been pretty patient, so far.

She and Jack get plenty of exercise.

- S.

Tourist Times

First walk on the Freedom Trail.

On Veteran's Day I had to attend a work training, so Derrick took the day off and he and Jack had a big city adventure.  Jack really enjoyed learning all about the Mayflower in school, so to continue on the historic ship theme, Derrick and Jack went to see the USS Constitution and museum.  It seemed fun was had by both parties and now the door has opened to visit other historic sites.  

- S.

Soccer

   

Soccer ended last Sunday.  Jack was so excited, he scored three goals. 

Jack made it clear he does not like playing soccer and we should not try to trick him (!) into playing in the future.  He was open to thinking about another activity he might want to try, but we'll wait until after the holidays to venture into something else.

- S.

Halloween

Jack o lantern prep

Carving.  Serious business.

We were pretty lax with the photos and didn't get one of the finished products,

and now they are moldy and wrinkled, but they were delightful on Halloween.

Jack was a Siamese cat.

 Candy dump

Candy sort.

It was nice weather on Halloween again this year and Jack had more stamina than past years so we went beyond the typical trick or treat route.  Jack was excited to acquire 97 items in his treat bag.

- S.

Fall Stuff

Time for the usual Fall activities.  This year we did not go apple picking, but Jack and Derrick picked up a 1/2 peck of apples at the farm when they went to get pumpkins while I was working.  So delicacies such as apple butter and apple crisp have been made.

Oh, cider donut too at the farm.

Pumpkin patch

Silly selfie at the pumpkin patch.

Leaf pile jump

Leaf pile snooze

Also, recently we went to the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary for a nighttime Halloween celebration.  The setup was that a wizard broke their wand and now all the animals in the woods were human sized and could talk.  We walked through the woods with our group to see who was out there.  The trails were lit with jack o lanterns. 

Wizard and story about the broken wand.

One of the "animals" we came across and learned about.

One of Jack's favorite pumpkins.

When we were done with the hike, we got to sit by a fire outside and have cider and a cider donut.  It was a relatively warm night and a fun time.

- S.

Fair

Finally some photos from the Topsfield Fair.  We managed to go to the fair three times this year as the weather was very nice both weekends, which is generally unheard of.  We also got back on the usual schedule of watching the parade at great-nana's on the first Saturday and having fried dough afterwards. 

Watching the parade.

Excited for fried dough.

With the giant pumpkin.  A new record, I believe.

Annual ride on the panda.  Might be too big for this one next year.

The big slide with dad.

Playing the fish game which we then realized the prize was not stuffed fish,

but actual fish.

Meet Bubbles (L) and Goldie (R), new residents of the playroom.

 Jack also won at the "launch the shark into the moving bucket" game.

Meet Pan Pan, who was quickly added to the panda collection that lives on Jack's bed.

Wizard dog has yet to be named.

Other games were played and a variety of rides ridden.  Junk food was eaten, but we at least avoided a request for cotton candy, so that's something.  We sufficiently celebrated the 200th anniversary of the fair and look forward to next year.

- S.

Checkup

Jack had his year six checkup a couple of weeks ago.  

He weighed in at 59.3 pounds and was 4'1" tall.

Since his trip to the doctor, he has had another growth spurt and is creeping up on 4'2".

Jack got a good report from the doctor and didn't have to get a shot this time, 

so he was very happy about that.  

Continuing the series of terrible pictures of tooth status,

Jack has lost tooth number four and has some nice symmetry going on.

Next post: Topsfield Fair 

- S. 

Soccer

Jack started soccer recently.  Derrick is assistant coach.

Two games in with mixed results.  

The latest critique from Jack is that there's too much running.

Jack at the head of the pack, running towards the goal.

Poorly shot video (by me) of Jack making a goal.

Hopefully this weekend's game will be a little more enjoyable for him.

- S.

First Grade

Jack has completed his first full week of first grade and lived to tell the (very limited) tale.  

Necessary first day in front of the sign photo.

Jack was excited to learn a week before school starting that his buddy 

Salvi would be returning for first grade.  

Found his hook and cubby.

Right into building things.

 Here is a summary of what will be covered in class this year.  

They are studying Massachusetts, so some historical field trips are on the schedule.

For one of Jack's first homework assignments, he brought home the class mascot, 

Nutmeg, for the weekend.  The assignment was to document what Nutmeg did over 

the weekend by pictures or drawings and by writing a few sentences in Nutmeg's travel journal.  

We took Nutmeg on a hike to Lynn Woods.

Eight days in and there has been drama over friendships, frustration over his one homework assignment, and excitement about some class activities.  Jack's teacher seems great and provides us with a weekly summary of what happened in class which is quite helpful as it is an effort to get much information out of Jack about his day.  Here's hoping for a fun year with lots of learning.

- S.

Six

Jack turned six last weekend.  He was pretty excited for his birthday this year, but didn't do a calendar countdown like last year.  Now he can stop telling people he is "five and three quarters."  We had a small family gathering at the house to celebrate.  This year Jack wanted a Lego disco party and we did our best to oblige.

We gave him some presents to start off the day.

Jack lost tooth #3 while eating pizza for lunch.

Blowing out candles.  Jack made a "6" cake topper for his cake out of Lego.

He got some pretty great presents, including this special one from his cousin Laura.

Family portrait with Lego glasses under the disco ball.

Jack started first grade this week!  Pictures to come.

- S.

Wells - Take Two

A few weeks ago we went up to Wells, Maine for an extra long weekend.  It was much better than last year in that we didn't spend any time with Jack in the hospital.  Instead we spent a lot of time in pools, at the beach, playing arcade games, and eating ice cream.

 

First stop before checking into our hotel, the diner for lunch.

Jack made this pancake face all by himself and he was very proud of his creation.

On our first night we attended a Surfider event at a nearby nature reserve.  

We had a picnic, watched a movie about ocean pollution, 

and heard a band play, sometimes from unique vantage points.

We also saw a rainbow.

 We spent two days at the beach building castles and moats,

 and Jack learned how to boogie board, with mixed success.

Here is a brief video of him on a good run.

We went down to York one day and did some shopping.  

Jack tried his first salt water taffy and was pretty neutral about it.   

 "Do I have something on my face?"

 Ready to party slightly under water.

A good (and healthy) time was had by all.

- S.